The U.S. State Department has called on the Samoan government to effectively regulate its off-shore financial sector.
The Department says Samoa should ensure the names of owners of international business companies and banks are on a registry accessible to law enforcement.
The call was outlined in the department's 2008 Money Laundering and Financial Crimes report for world countries, released recently in Washington D.C.
The report provides background information on laws enacted in Samoa to prevent money laundering and the criminalising of offences dealing specifically with the financing of terrorist activities.
The report also calls on Samoa to implement regulations to ensure that its entry and exit points are not used for either the transshipment of narcotics, the sale of imported narcotics, or the funds derived from either illicit activity.
But it says Samoa does not have major organized crime, fraud, or major drug problems.
